2011 Million Word Read & Review Fan Fic Challenge
by LabTechAndi
Summary: "The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt that it didn't matter."  Edward Albee * For 2011, I challenge you to read a million words of Fan Fiction. Are you ready to take me on? Rules inside.
1. Challenge Rules

**2011 Million Word Read & Review Fan Fiction Challenge  
Sponsored by Dr. Cullen's Love Shack . com**

_"The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt that it didn't matter."  
~Edward Albee_

Hello and Welcome! I'm so glad you've found or maybe stumbled into this little Fan Fiction Reading Challenge! Reading is important, whether it's published literature or self published fan fiction. By reading, we learn about ourselves, about others, and expand our vision of the world around us. The power of words is incredible and they inspire each of us in different ways making us both the teacher and the student within our small space in the universe.

For 2011, I saw that GoodReads . com is encouraging people to read by creating a book reading challenge and I know several people who have decided to take that on. However, in the world of fan fiction, stories aren't published in the same way; they're published a single chapter at a time, which makes it difficult to keep track of how many stories you've read. Not to mention that the currency of the fandom is valued in feedback, not money. So, this is what I decided to take on, create a reading challenge that would reward the reader as well as the writer, thus my challenge was born.

Now, unlike the Goodreads challenge, I'm not letting you pick your goal. It's a million words, plain and simple, just because I liked the number. Based on the addicts that visit my blog posting on Fridays, a million words isn't even a challenge, so it makes me wonder just how fast can you get to a million? Hmmm... we shall see. ;)

**Here are the rules:**

1. You have until December 31, 2011 to read one million words of any fan fiction you choose.

2. To get credit for the words you've read from a story you must submit a review to the author for each chapter of the story that you're claiming.

3. And since I'm neither a mind reader nor psychic, you must also submit a review to this story post, simply stating the story title, author, and chapter(s) you reviewed, that way I can find out the number of words to add to your total. If you reviewed chapters 11-15 of a story then all of that info can all be submitted to the challenge in one post. All story reviews must be from January 1st thru December 31st of 2011 to qualify. Also, you need to know that, this challenge is not limited to fanfiction . net. Authors publish their words all over cyberspace, so I don't want to create a location limit. Even on their own blogs, most of them have a way to comment on their chapter, please leave your reviews there and then come here to get credit.

4. I will try to post the word count totals for those participating each Sunday. It will simply be listed here as a story update that way everyone can see where they are. If you want to be notified when the latest totals are up, just put this story on alert. :)

5. Since this is not a contest, I'd love to be able to offer an incentive for all of those who actually complete the challenge; however I'm not sure what that incentive will be or if we'll even be able to offer one yet. What exactly do you give to people who are reading digital media? Most of us here at Dr. Cullen's Love Shack are pretty creative, so who knows what we'll come up with. Stay tuned.

So, are you ready to take me on? I hope so. I think this will be fun and I'm looking forward to seeing who joins me. My contact information is in my profile description if you want to find me on facebook or twitter.

Now go READ! :)


	2. Totals as of Feb 6  2:02 am EST

**Total Summary as of 2/6/2011 2:02 am EST**

chirp... chirp... chirp...

Is that crickets I hear? Where did everybody go? Well, I did have two of ya that were eager to send me their totals. So, without further delay, here are the totals listed in alphabetical order:

* * *

madnessdownunder2 - 585155  
Mouse95 - 13941

* * *

And let me tell ya, it took me hours to get all those name in alphabetical order. Whew! I'm tired! ;)

I've also been told that once you've reviewed a post, it won't let you review it again. I suppose it makes sense and since I've never tried to review a post twice, I had no idea. Therefore, in the future, you can PM me your review updates, if you need to.

Now, I know that I may have only had two people respond, but I know there are more of you out there who are reading. So, please remember to review the stories you read, whether you're participating in this challenge or not. Our brilliant authors create these little masterpieces without any other reward. Reviews are what keep them writing, so it's important.

Looking at these numbers I posted, I think madnessdownunder2 seriously took me up on my challenge to see how fast she could read a million words. All I can say to that is; Color me impressed!

I guess that's all for now. I hope I got all those names in the right order, if not, I'll fix it next week. Now GO READ! ;)


	3. Totals as of Feb 14 3:02 pm EST

**Total Summary as of 2/14/2011 3:02 pm EST**

Ok, so real life does get in the way, even for the insanity that I like to create for myself. :) But I now have all the totals done and here they are listed in alphabetical order:

* * *

Dazzle Me Cullen - 412077  
madnessdownunder2 - 953834  
Mouse95 - 54858

* * *

Can I say, I'm completely blown away with the amount of reading ya'll are doing and the authors you've introduced me to. There are some awesome tales out there; if you want to see what anyone else is reading, just look at the reviews for this challenge.

I know I wanted to see how fast we could get to a million words but man, oh man, this challenge is supposed to last all year. LOL! For anyone new, it's never too late to start participating and posting your updates to me once a week is good for me. So please join us! All fandoms are welcome. It's great to see what people are reading and if it's any good. :)

Well, I guess I'll wrap this up and celebrate Valentine's Day. Now GO READ! ;)


	4. Totals as of Feb 21 10:43 am EST

**Total Summary as of 2/21/2011 10:43 am EST**

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

We have the first person to complete my challenge! So I want to take a moment to congratulate madnessdownunder2 who is serious about her fan fiction! :) In honor of you, I'll first give you this:

* * *

There was a girl named Bella  
Who longed for her vampire fella  
But when he proposed  
She firmly opposed  
Saying, "I want something more than vanilla."

* * *

Ok, so that was really silly and maybe a very bad limerick, but you got there so fast! I still have no idea what to give someone who reads digital media. Anyway, I'm willing to give you an option:

1. Would you like some crazy little tangible thing that I could send, I'm incredibly crafty, or

2. Would like a little piece of my wacky imagination?

Since, I know there are several people who have this story on alert, I think I will leave it up to popular opinion, so you may want to chime in. :) The crafty thing, I'm still a tad clueless as to what I would make, but option #2 could let you guys challenge me. So here's one way you can have my imagination, give me a spark for a one shot; a song, a picture, a video, or a prompt, and the characters you want me to write about and I'll give it a shot. Since, this is open to any fandom, I'll be happy to write for any fandom, but I there's no way I can guarantee that the personalities will be correct. It would be interesting though.

Another way you can have me is this, I've slowly been working on an original fic for awhile, but I've had a terrible case of writers block and lack of motivation. I have a preface and 2 chapters that are written, but I feel like my chapters seriously need to be reworked and I just haven't made the time for them. So, if you would like, I'm offering this; for each person that hits a million words, I'll finish and release another chapter of my story. If I have only the three of you who are sending me updates for totals, then this should be easy, considering what I already have written. Of course, I'll leave this up to you. You just let me know.

Now for the updated totals this week, listed in alphabetical order:

* * *

Dazzle Me Cullen - 418301  
madnessdownunder2 - 1551693  
Mouse95 - 54858

* * *

Well, I guess that's all I have for this week. Let me know what you guys would like, even if you haven't posted any totals yet, I want to be prepared for anything. And for those who haven't posted yet, please don't be afraid of the firecrackers this challenge has had so far, it's not a race; it's a way for us to encourage each other and share what we're reading.

I hope you have a great week. Now GO READ! ;)


	5. Totals as of Feb 28 11:43 am EST

**Total Summary as of 2/28/2011 11:43 am EST**

So, in complete lazy person fashion, I'm ending up with a Monday update instead of a Sunday update. Oh well, at least I have the totals right? :) So, since this is what you've been waiting for, here ya go:

* * *

Dazzle Me Cullen - 418,301  
madnessdownunder2 - 2,338,221  
Mouse95 - 88,542

* * *

And I have been presented with a one-shot challenge from madnessdownunder2. She wants me to spin a Carlisle tale involving willing blood. I've left this description vague since I still have a few thoughts running through my head; I'm hoping to get this to text soon. Since this is my usual fandom, I want to do my characters justice. When it's complete, I'll most likely post it as a separate story.

I know this is quick, but I know you don't want to just read numbers anyway and I have a one-shot to think about. Don't forget about "Fandoms Fight the Floods"

Fandomsfightthefloods(dot)blogspot(dot)com

They will only continue to accept donations until March 30th!

Have a great week! Now GO READ! ;)


	6. Totals as of Mar 8 1:27 pm EST

**Total Summary as of 3/8/2011 1:27 pm EST**

Real life activities are picking up, so I'll be doing my best to update this on time, but don't hold me to it. :) Without further ado:

* * *

Dazzle Me Cullen - 418,301  
madnessdownunder2 - 2,925,958  
Mouse95 - 135,887

* * *

I'm happy that madnessdownunder2 has continued to send me updates, it's fun to know she's having fun. I also want to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the challenge given to me, although, I'm thinking of doing this in more than one chapter. This way you can at least see something and since there are just a few edit I want to make to the text, I'll give you just a little bit of the text:

"There are so many events in the history of mankind that are veiled by the indistinct memory of humans. Of course, that may not all be bad, the human psyche is only able to process so much and if they were fully aware of the monsters that lurked in the shadows then surely they would appear quite mad. So it s best just to leave them blissfully unaware of the shepherd that tends to his herd until it s time to lead them to slaughter." [In Nature]

Ok, well I won't keep you any longer and I must get back to reality. Have a great week! Now GO READ! ;)


	7. Totals as of Mar 24 3:40 pm EST

**Total Summary as of 3/24/2011 3:40 pm EST**

Hey! I'm still alive, I think so, anyway! Oh, how things get away from us! I'm sorry that it's been a few weeks since I updated this list, but I'm glad to see you didn't let my own personal insanity deter you. :) So without any hesitation:

* * *

Dazzle Me Cullen - 418,301  
madnessdownunder2 - 4,413,601  
Mouse95 - 177,282

* * *

With the commitments of my job, making T-shirts for a charity fund raising project, my blog writing responsibilities, and my mommy duties, something had to give and unfortunately, this challenge had to flounder for a little while. At least, with the exception of me being a little tired, everyone is well. Of course, some of these commitments will remain heavy for a few more weeks, so if I miss an update, don't worry I'll pick-up the numbers when I can until things lighten again. :)

Hey, I learned something that I thought I might pass on. If you want to go back and see what stories you've reviewed go to the review tab after you sign in, then click on History. This will show you up to 100 of your latest reviews. :) I hope some find this helpful.

The fund raising project I'm involved in is to raise money for the Prevent Child Abuse America organization. If you want to contribute, go to:

reellimited. blogspot. com

you can checkout the shirts I'm making. Well, I guess I should get back to work.

Have a great day! Now, GO READ! ;)


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